Chapter 191: A Seeded Detour

“You’re sure there’s no way around this one?” Ann asked, staring up at the oil slick that hung in the air.

The shimmering curtain of nauseating colours marked the border of another Seed, and one that was apparently very much in their way. Korvas had more than most other places, but this cluster was apparently well known to locals. One was a great source of stone, the other was an ever-in-season lake, and the last was a swamp. The one they’d run into was the swamp. Of course, it was the swamp. Mountain or lake? That’d be kinda nice depending on what Warped ran around in it. She could deal with more fish monsters, or maybe some living rocks. Swamps had bugs. Lots and lots of bugs. Memories of the summer mosquitoes were coming back, and Ann was not happy.

“Quite certain,” Bren said, looking up at the veil. “Travelling to pass one of the others would cause unnecessary delays.”

“I’m wit’ Ann on this one,” Kat grumbled. “I’m heavy. Swamps aren’t fer me.”

“Will be fine,” Lucia chuckled. “Just mud.”

“Maybe fer ye, but ye’ve had practice.”

“Not much,” Lucia reminded her.

“Ladies, bickering will get us nowhere. Shall we proceed?”

“Yes,” Lucia said, and placed an affirmative hand on Bren’s shoulder. He looked at it, slightly confused, but didn’t shrug it off.

“Fine,” Ann said, reaching out to grab Kat and Rosalyn’s hands. They linked up with Lucia and walked into the disorienting mess that was the border.

She knew they were through when a buzzing hit her ears. Of fucking course this place was filled with midge flies. As she opened her eyes, she let out a groan. It was exactly what she’d expected.

They came out standing on a stone elevated out of the mossy, soggy earth around them. Leaves and decaying plant matter surrounded them in all directions, only broken by trees whose boughs were pulled down by the weight of moss and vines choking them. The humidity hit them like a wall of warm, wet air. Ann’s fur felt sticky, far too hot, and heavy within seconds. No immediate ambushes were visible, so they took a moment to adjust.

Kat swatted the flies already assaulting her away. “Ugh.”

“Yeah, I’m losing my fur for this one,” Ann said, happily paying the health points to go furless, and growing her hair back in shorter. “Holy shit, that feels so much better.”

“Your paws look silly,” Rosalyn giggled, pointing at her now naked feet.

“Not to mention your tail,” Bren laughed. “I am far too used to the fluffiness.”

“Well, deal,” Ann grumbled. Her tail did look strange, just a whiplike appendage sticking out the back of her kilt.

“Aw, I still think ye’re sexy,” Kat teased.

“Can we get on with this? I don’t want to be in here any longer than we have to.”

“Fine,” Lucia laughed. “Safest this way. Follow.” The woman stepped confidently off the stone and onto firm ground. Kat followed behind, and even her weight didn’t sink.

“How’d ye know?”

“Skill. See good footing easier. Bad footing, too. Useful.”

They set off in a single-file line, following Lucia’s steps as best they could. As always, Bren followed Kat, and Rosalyn followed Bren, leaving Ann to take up the rear.

“I miss bug spray,” Ann grumbled, swatting more flies away from her ears by flicking them.

“There are ointments for such a thing, but the more we carry, the less space we have for food,” Bren pointed out.

“Look at the trees!” Rosalyn gasped. “How old do you think they are? Looks like it’s at least a century old, and to be able to hold up so much weight, they have to have a healthy structure inside, as well as their roots. I’d think they’d have weak roots with how readily available water is, but I guess not.”

“I actually know a little about that,” Bren filled in. “Firstly, their roots are dense, anchoring them firmly. Second, they are intertwined with all of the nearby trees. Together, they are stronger than any individual would be. Strength in numbers.”

“Oh, that definitely makes sense,” Rosalyn said. “Hold on, let me get a closer look.”

She crouched down at the edge of the path Lucia had designated and peered out at the trees. “Y’know, it’s kinda funny. So much of that is hidden beneath the muck. I wonder how much life in areas like this lives under the water. It can’t all be on the trees or flying around like the gnats. You think there are fish?”

An explosion of water interrupted her thought as a massive tendril broke the surface and wrapped around her chest.

“Eep!” Rosalyn squeaked, and she was yanked off the land bridge.

Ann’s pack was already off as she leapt after Rosalyn. Her paws splashed murky water and sank into the soft sediment beneath. Thank the Gods it wasn’t too deep, but the stuff sucked at her feet, making it difficult to run.

Rosalyn was doing her best, using her staff to snag whatever she could to slow her rapid abduction. Fillianore reported behind Ann, and the bullet splashed behind Rosalyn. Something twitched, but kept hold of the Druid.

Rosalyn did the smart thing and cast Entangle on herself. Vines erupted around her, grabbing hold and keeping her stuck. The problem was that this pulled her down and into the water.

Ann was almost there when Kat cried out behind her as a huge root rose up and smacked against her shield. She had to trust that Kat could deal with that.

Sucking step after squelching step, Ann got to Rosalyn. She was completely under, and another root was wrapped around her upper body. Ann tried to get it loose, but it wouldn’t budge. She wasn’t strong enough. Fuck.

Looking around, she tried to find the source, but there were too many trees, and none of them were moving. Testing her gauntleted claws, she dug deep grooves into the root. Black sap oozed forth, but there was no pain response. Bubbles from Rosalyn’s breath were starting to fade.

Ann set herself to hacking at the root with wild abandon. She couldn’t spare any more time. Out in some wilderness tourist place in Saskatchewan, a man had shown them how he could tear a log apart with his hands. She felt like she was trying to replicate that. Stringy wood parted under her claws, and she ripped as much away as she could with each pull.

Rosalyn thrashed, her panic rising. Ann didn’t have much more time.

One smite, and she pushed her hand all the way through the root, claws forming the spear to split the damn thing. Shoving her other hand into the gap, she wrenched it apart. The root went limp, and she rushed to Rosalyn’s head. Vines disappeared, and she heaved the druid out of the muck.

She sputtered and gasped, but Rosalyn was alright. “Thanks. Scared the Hells out of me.”

“Me too! Come on, Kat’s fighting another one,” Ann said, turning to see what had become of their fighter.

It wasn’t one, it was now three, and Kat was struggling. She knocked one strike away while another slammed into her back. She caught it with her defensive skill, but it still staggered her, so the third could take advantage.

Ann ran as hard as she could, but Rosalyn got her hit in first. A blade of wind sliced toward one of the roots and scored a deep gash into the tender flesh. Ann whirled past Kat as the root reeled and scored four deep cuts into the next piece of living wood.

Kat didn’t need to say her thanks as she started to battle the pillar of wood harassing her. A deft parry with her shield gave the experienced fighter plenty of opening to get her own slices into the creature.

“The fuck are these?” Ann asked, dodging her lashing tendril.

“I dinnae, trees?” Kat grunted. A glimmering shield had stopped the root, Bren’s hands outstretched, allowing her to go on further offensive.

“Where?” Lucia asked.

“No clue!” Rosalyn yelled, sending another gust of wind out. This time, she actually got all the way through the thing and the root writhed as black sap was flung in all directions. The base retracted back into the swamp, leaving a twitching remnant where it fell. “Follow that!” Rosalyn yelled, pointing at the ripples.

Lucia’s eyes focused on the ripples, waiting to see where they went.

That left the two beating up on Kat and Ann. Now that the element of surprise was gone, and Kat wasn’t being overwhelmed, the roots were fairly straightforward. Dodge, then cut. Parry, do more damage. Splinters flew as the fighters got to work. One of the roots fell by Kat’s sword, but another one popped up immediately to take its place. Once Ann handled hers, two thinner ones ripped out of the water and demanded her attention. Thinner and faster, she had to pay much more attention to avoid taking unnecessary hits.

“Damnit, Lucia, ye find the thing yet?” Kat yelled?

“Still moving!”

Ann didn’t have time to ask questions. A root shot out, seeking her legs. As she jumped, the other tangled around her torso. Thinking quickly, she got one of her arms free before the wooden appendage had time to tighten. As soon as it secured her torso, the other root went for her legs. Claws rent the vine holding her chest as she struggled for freedom. Two strikes were all it took to get the thing to slacken enough for Ann to wriggle free. From there, she made short work of the second tendril on her legs.

“Got it!” Lucia yelled, then raised Fillianore and fired that piercing white shot. One of the trees screamed. Well, scream was a relative description. It let out a loud, high-pitched creaking noise that approximated a scream.

As Ann watched, the roots hidden under the water started to writhe, kicking up waves as the Warped tree pushed itself towards them to engage in a proper fight.

“Get out of the water!” Rosalyn yelled.

Ann didn’t have to be asked twice. Once she and Kat were clear, Rosalyn raised her staff and let loose a lightning bolt. Electricity and superheated plasma hit the tree like, well, like a bolt of lightning! Wood splintered and ignited, electricity zapped any roots the thing had floating in the water, and the tree split nearly in half.

“Holy shit!” Ann shouted, her ears ringing from the thunder.

“That was way more effective than I thought it’d be!” Rosalyn giggled in glee. “Let’s go check it out! I wanna see how it was controlling the roots!”

Kat grabbed her by the pack before she could get away from them. “Sorry, love. Don’t think that’s a good idea. No clue how many more are just waitin’ tae take ye again.”

“Aww, but it might have some internal muscular structure that was merged with some other life form to allow it control of its roots! Maybe there’s a brain in there! You’re no fun.”

“Agreed,” Lucia grunted. “Bad feeling. More waiting. Stay on dry land.”

“Boo,” Rosalyn jeered.

“Nope,” Kat laughed. “Borin’ ol’ Kat. Come on, Lucia’s got more guidin’ tae do.”

“But what if they don’t need us to be in the water, and the land is just as dangerous? I was on the land when it got me.”

“You were leaning over the water,” Bren pointed out. “I guess that was close enough. I agree with Lucia’s assessment. Let us keep to the path as it is and proceed with caution.”

Ann retrieved her pack and fell back into line, watching for any more ambushes. Everything about this Seed took time. Lucia had to double back twice when she ran out of passable land, and the way the trees around them looked made it seem like they were going in circles. Ann sincerely hoped Lucia was as good a tracker as she claimed to be.

Getting annoyed with the midges and finding out some fur was better than none, Ann re-grew the fur in her ears. Once she did, the little shits had a harder time getting past the hairs blocking their access. She did the same with her paws and tail, but kept the coating light with no undercoat. Now her tail looked like a Labrador’s, still a far cry from her usual fluffiness.

As they walked, Ann noticed more and more stones popping up. At first, they looked like natural outcroppings: a grey stone covered in slimy moss here, another standing resolute and clean. These started to change as they progressed. Some looked like they’d been cut, their sides too flat and their corners too square. Centuries of wear were evident on all of them, but they still looked off. The next one made her stop in her tracks and take a closer look.

“Hey, guys? You seeing these?” Ann called, making the rest stop.

“Aye, what’s up?” Kat asked.

“You’re not seeing the markings? This one has carvings, like pictures and patterns. Bren, come look.”

Kat moved aside as Bren walked up alongside Ann. “I was too focused on threats from creatures. You are correct. Hm, look here, a pictograph.” Bren pointed to a series of carvings. The first was squiggly, but the next was distinctly a person. They were kneeling before the sun as it rose high in the sky. Further along, the people wore robes, and squiggly lines came off all of them. “Magic, possibly,” Bren said, tracing the pattern. “This seems to be a legend of humanity’s origins. When they were raised up and given magic.”

“That has to be hundreds of thousands of years ago,” Ann gasped. “That’s before the Gods left, right?”

“It has to be. This does not depict the Return. Look, the next part is the people, but they are without the lines, and the sun is gone. They all look destitute. That is when the Gods left this world.”

“This is so weird to see,” Ann muttered. “Looks like it’s broken from there. Damn slab couldn’t stay intact forever?”

“We will need to locate more,” Bren said. His eyes glinted with excitement as he looked around. “I see no others with carvings. Let us proceed.”

“Who do you think made these?” Ann asked, raising her voice enough that Bren could hear over Rosalyn.

“I am uncertain. This is ancient history even to you, correct?”

“Yeah. Nothing I’ve looked up talks about this. If we were fully evolved and using magic, how did we regress so hard? We were using sticks and rocks at one point.”

“The Gods may… make… a difference!” Bren said, hopping across a tricky patch of the path, mostly covered in sucking mud. “Imagine you had the power of magic at your fingertips, then society completely lost it. I would imagine a complete societal breakdown occurred incredibly quickly.”

Ann navigated the patch of treacherous path easily, her paws finding stable footing naturally. “Yeah, no kidding. I still wonder what made them leave in the first place. None of them has talked about that?”

“No. We know they left, and that they had a reason, but none will speak on it. It is as if they swore an oath among themselves not to reveal their actions. Long have scholars debated, priests prayed for answers, and received no satisfactory answers. Something like this may be a starting point to rekindle that investigation. I wonder why no one reported this before?”

“Or that,” Lucia said, pointing ahead of them.

Ann looked up and took a sharp breath in. Before them was a temple. Ruined, covered in centuries of moss, slimy mould, vines, tree roots, and all sorts of detritus. The walls were a dark grey stone, evenly cut, and still held strong after all this time. Yeah, there were some crumbled or cracked parts at the tops, but the structure still looked sturdy. Set into the wall was a sturdy metal gate, strange symbols carved into its face. Statues flanked the entrance with full armour that Ann didn’t recognise and nasty-looking weapons in hand. At the centre, past the gates, appeared to be a towering central building many floors high. Each floor had a flaring balcony as it reached up into the sky. Ann counted maybe fifteen floors before it capped off in a spiked peak. It looked seamless, too. No brickwork was visible from their vantage point. It was a ruin, through and through. Something ancient and lost to time.

“What in the Gods’ names?” Bren gasped, taking it in.

“Oi, ye sure nothin’s on record about tha’?” Kat asked, also staring.

“I am quite certain.”

“But it looks so old. How could anyone have missed a giant building like this? Someone had to climb a tree at some point and gotten a good look,” Rosalyn said.

“Not sure. Really stands out,” Lucia said.

Ann felt her stomach twist as her brain put it together. “Guys, what if it’s like the weird Guardian in the Edmonton Seed? What if this is because of me?”

“Ancient history, unexplained location appearing without documentation, possible religious correlation. It might be possible,” Bren pondered. “If your influence on a Seed has exerted to this point, then we are in for an interesting adventure whenever we enter one.”

“Great. Interesting,” Ann groaned.

“More like feckin’ fun! Gettin’ tae see shite no one has before? Fightin’ new monsters? Oh my Illdall, I’m fuckin’ ready. Let’s go!”

“Wait, Kat!” Bren cried, running off to try to wrangle the Princess.

Ann gave the temple’s top a wary look. Something about this felt wrong. Still, she was here. Might as well find out why. She jogged to catch up with the party.